


the copycat effect

by anathebookworm



Series: song of peace [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Connara - Freeform, Connor and RK900 try to become friends, Established Relationship, F/M, Light Angst, Solving crimes, and Alice loves everyone, everyone loves alice, i think you get it that there's angst here, or maybe not, or something like that, origami killer copycat, some references to heavy rain, you tell me - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-01 09:36:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15140255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anathebookworm/pseuds/anathebookworm
Summary: Just as Connor, Kara and Alice slowly start living an ordinary life, a copycat killer starts targeting child androids. Not only that, but the killer leaves no evidence or fingerprints behind, making it fairly impossible to stop them before their next crime. The only help comes from RK900, who claims to be a witness.Planning a wedding proves to be incredibly difficult once they need to focus more on not dying.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, another! I can’t get enough of my favorite android family, seriously. This story partially started after BenRG commented on my last Connara fic: “Alice is going to make friends (she's good at that). Eventually, a picture will appear online of her playing with her best friend: Two friends enjoying each other's company, not caring about each other's species. Android and human supremacists alike will be incandescent with fury for there is one thing that they cannot understand: Why others do not hate as they do.”
> 
> Oh, and yep, I couldn’t resist the Heavy Rain things I added. But please bear in mind that I played that for the last time years ago, so I might get some details wrong. Do you need to have played/watched it to understand this fic? Absolutely not. This is just some fun details I wanted to add, and I’ll explain anything important.

While there are always new cases waiting to be solved, they also spend long periods of time in the actual precinct, doing nothing but paperwork. As Hank would say, it was quite boring. Still, it had to be done. Reports weren’t going to fill themselves. And it helped keep his mind away from his most recent worries.

Alice started school two months ago. It still feels so new, so...painful to think that she’s spending time with new people on her own. And she’s making friends so quickly. He always knew she was good at that, of course, but...it’s different when it’s something that’s currently happening right in front of his eyes.

Maybe Kara is right. Maybe Alice truly isn’t a small child anymore. Growing up is part of a cycle, one they accepted to be part of. Time to face the consequences, he concludes with a sigh.

“I swear I’m going to shoot you if you sigh one more time, kid,” Hank says with a grunt from his desk.

“I’d ask that you refrain from doing so,” Connor says with a small, forced smile. “I doubt Kara would be happy if that happened. Especially since our wedding day is approaching.”

Hank decides to ignore his words—like he usually does. “What’s bothering you so much anyway? The getting married thing?”

“No,” he says quickly, though he frowns a second later, looking down at the two rings on his finger. “Well...perhaps. To be fair, I don’t believe there’s a way for me not to worry about such a thing. Kara and Alice both want things to be as perfect as they can be. I want it as well.”

“But...?”

“But this isn’t what’s bothering me at this current moment.”

Hank shakes his head in annoyance, though Connor can see the beginning of a smile on his face. “Well, I can’t read minds. If you want to talk about it, you’ll need to spill the beans.”

“When was the last time you bought a pro-android magazine?”

His partner’s mouth hangs open for a moment while he processes the information. “Okay, that was random,” Hank says. “I don’t know. I don’t like these stupid mags anyway. All they talk about is new shit that famous people are up to. Nothing that interests me. Besides, I have TV.”

Connor sighs again. “Alice was mentioned on one of them recently. There were pictures.”

Hank’s blinks. Sputters. And then, “Wait, what? When did that happen? How come I didn’t know about this?”

“Kara and I didn’t believe it was important enough to bother you.”

“It’s clearly bothering _you_ , though.”

He pauses, revising the article he’s read countless times already. He could probably rewrite it in a few minutes.

“Yes,” Connor finally says. “It is.”

“And you’re going to tell me more about it or should I go buy the magazine already?”

Hank’s stress levels are rising to fifty-two percent, close enough to his own sixty-six.

“Apologies,” Connor says, shaking his head to clear it for a moment. “It was an article talking about relationships between humans and androids. Alice’s closest friend is a human girl by the name of Emily. Someone took a picture of them while they were playing together. I don’t like the sort of attention this could attract.”

The smile Hank had been suppressing earlier comes back as his stress levels drop. “Kid, serial killers are weird, but not _that_ weird. At least, I think they aren’t. Look, I get that being a parent comes with lots of worries. But try to let the kid breathe a little, alright? Although...did someone ask for permission before using that photograph?”

“No.”

“Then this could be a problem. You could have a nice chat with the fuckers, tell them that it’s not okay to use pictures of a little girl without consulting her parents first. Maybe they would remove it from the article? I’m not sure if it’ll help, since someone probably saved it already, but...”

He stops listening to Hank after a moment, too deep in his own thoughts. Alice might be growing up, but she still needs protection. There’s still so much she needs help with. Besides, he didn’t really consider the possibility of a serial killer going after her, but knowing she’s on her own sometimes...it does something unpleasant to his processor.

“Anderson! Both of you,” Fowler’s yell shatters his thoughts. “My office, now.”

Hank mumbles along the way as much as he can, but Connor chooses to remain silent. It’s a new case, of course. None of them did anything to result in punishment, so there’s no other option. For some reason, thinking about a new case unnerves him. The last ones have all been particularly brutal, and Connor doesn’t want new images of ways Kara and Alice and Hank could be taken from him.

Fowler doesn’t care, though. He dumps a file in front of them, still very thin.

“Some lunatic decided it would be fantastic to use their time murdering children,” he starts, venom dripping from both “lunatic” and “fantastic.” Connor goes rigid. So this is going to be a case where he’ll think and worry about Alice more than usual. “The press hasn’t heard about this yet, so I need you two there immediately to see if we can solve this quickly. If the press figures something out, we’re going to need to arrest someone fast. If they don’t, then I won’t mind if you decide to treat the bastard whatever way you want. As long as you bring them alive.”

“Jesus fuck,” Hank mutters, hands running over his face. “What do we know?”

“It’s a girl,” Fowler says, although he seems more...careful? “Android. I don’t have details now, but someone found her in the outskirts of town, face completely covered in mud. She had an orchid in her hand, too.”

“Fuck,” Hank repeats, though he quickly turns around to grab Connor’s arm. “Son, you okay?”

He doesn’t know. A child android. Murdered.

A little girl.

Fuck indeed.

“Jeff, you sure you need us?” Hank insists, turning to the other man. “Come on, this gonna mess the kid...”

“I’m sorry,” Fowler says, hands raised high. He does look sorry. “But I need him. He’s the best, and we need the best.”

Before Hank can protest more, Connor clears his throat louder than necessary. “I’m alright. I can handle this.”

Hank doesn’t look convinced.

Neither does Fowler.

But they don’t argue with him, they don’t even talk anymore. Fowler gives them an address and they leave the precinct together, Hank’s arm around his shoulders the entire time.

* * *

 

The car ride reminds Connor of his relationship with Hank before he became deviant. Tense. Awkward. Quiet.

“Kid,” Hank finally says after they arrive in a wasteland-like site, “you don’t need to go there. You can wait in the car.”

“You heard Fowler earlier,” Connor says, much too mechanical for his own liking. “I’m necessary to this case.”

“Yeah, but what’s not necessary is for you to see a body and think about your kid,” Hank retorts. “No one needs to go through that.”

“I can handle it,” he repeats and jumps from the car.

If it weren’t for the holographic tape and other police officers surrounding the area, Connor would have needed a while to see it is in fact a crime scene. Nothing stands out. Nothing makes this place remarkable. There are no signs of a struggle, no signs of Thirium anywhere. No footprints, nothing. It’s completely unremarkable.

Except for the body, partially hidden by mud.

As he gets closer to it, he involuntarily gags. It’s a child android indeed, model YK500. She has mud all over her body, though it’s much more evident on her face. In her right hand, she clutches a white orchid.

She...looks like Alice. Exactly like his sweet, loved Alice.

He blinks and stumbles away from the body, too overwhelmed to analyze anything else. All he can think of is Alice, Alice, Alice. Alice smiling. Playing with her stuffed toy. Sleeping sandwiched between him and Kara. Hugging Sumo. Alice, Alice, Alice.

He backs away from the scene, makes it past the tape and bends down to vomit. It’s unpleasant, yes, but it’s involuntary. Hank is there the next second, giving him support. Literally and figuratively.

“Hush, kid,” he says. “It’s alright. It’s alright.”

It’s not alright.

It’s never going to be alright again. The fear that spreads inside his body every time his heart beats makes it hard to think, to focus, to do anything. He calls Kara, because he needs to hear her voice more than anything in the world.

 _Connor?_ , her voice fills his head, and he can’t help but sigh. _Con, what happened? Are you hurt? Where are you?_

 _Alice. Where is she? Do you have her? Right now?_ , he blurts instead of answering any of her questions.

_Yes, of course she’s with me. Why?_

_I’ll explain later. I’m sorry, Kara, I just...I had to know._

_You’re scaring me, Connor._

_I’ll explain later. I promise. Love you both._

_We love you, too._

She disappears after that, and he breathes again. It’s not Alice. It’s not his little girl.

“Connor!” Hanks slaps his arm, and he finally looks at his friend. “Are you okay?”

He considers lying, but in the end goes with the truth. “No. But I...I can be strong now. Thank you.”

“Are you fucking with me?” Hank frowns. “No, you can’t be strong suddenly because you decide it. And it’s okay to freak out. It’s a kid. One that looks like our girl. I—”

“She was someone else’s little girl, Hank,” he says angrily. “And we owe it to them to figure this out. Whoever they are.”

At the corner of his eye, he sees a figure moving. When he looks, he’s convinced for a second that he’s seeing himself, or someone extremely similar. RK900? No, he’s in Canada. This...the sight of this little girl must be confusing his processor. With a nod to himself, he squeezes Hank’s shoulders and moves back to the crime scene.

It’s hard to tell for sure when he’s still shaken up, but judging from his evidence, the little girl was strangled to death. Child androids are extremely fragile, and as such this isn’t inconceivable. However, her pump regulator is nowhere in sight. He can’t be sure, but he’s willing to bet it was removed post-mortem. Perhaps to ensure she couldn’t be reactivated? He doesn’t know yet. The dried Thirium in her clothes also suggests she was killed hours ago. Six, if he’s correct. And the crime didn’t happen at this site—for some reason, the killer just decided to leave the body here. No fingerprints anywhere, nothing that can help him identify the killer.

The orchid, though...that’s a mystery. He doesn’t know what to make of it.

Getting back to his feet, Connor files away all the information for later, when he’s asked to write a report.

“Any witnesses?” He asks one of the officers. When he shakes his head that no, there were no witnesses, Connor frowns. “And who found the body?”

“Mark—I mean, Officer Simmons lives nearby and found it earlier,” the man, Officer Horowitz, provides. “There were no recent reports of children being kidnapped, though.”

How is that possible? A YK500 can’t wander around on their own. Someone must’ve been with this one. Someone must’ve loved her. Maybe they didn’t report her disappearance for fear? It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume they could have been threatened by someone. He decides to look more into people who live with android children later.

This little girl deserves it. Whoever cared for her deserves closure, too.

He looks at her body one more time before following Hank’s advice and waiting back inside the car. He doesn’t want to see this any longer.

The strange feeling that he’s being watched never leaves him, though.


	2. Chapter 2

The YK500 model was released five years ago and it quickly became a commercial success. This, Connor finds, makes it incredibly difficult to pinpoint and investigate every single household that has one of these children. In fact, a sociologist by the name of Mary Wallace speculates that there might be as many YK500 as there are human children.

However, he does learn that at least nine people working at the precinct—himself included—live with a YK500. He tries to talk to talk to them, but they all dismiss him, stress levels alarmingly high. Even Mark Simmons, the man that found the body, lives with a YK500. Connor doesn’t report any of this to Fowler, not yet. He needs more proof first.

He does share all of his suspicions with Kara as soon as he’s home, though. She frowns the entire time, and he knows without even interfacing with her that she’s thinking about Alice. He knows, because it’s exactly what he had been doing the whole day.

Kara’s eyes suddenly fill with tears, and he breaks their hand contact to hug her tightly.

“Shh,” he says, trying to soothe her while she hides her face in his chest. “It’s okay now. I’m going to figure this out. I promise. Whoever did that...I’ll find them.”

She nods. “I can’t stop thinking about her parents. You said no one wanted to talk to you at work? What if...?”

He runs his hand through her short, silky hair. “I don’t know if she was theirs. It was just a hunch. She could have been with anyone, there are so many people...”

“I’ll ask people at Alice’s school later,” she decides. “Maybe one of the parents know someone.”

“That still doesn’t really narrow down our list of possible parents.” He groans to himself. “I hate everything about this case. I...I’m sorry I shared this with you, the images, it was too...her little body, it...I’m so sorry, Kara...”

“Don’t. You don’t have the hide anything from me. I can handle it. And it’s good that I know, I can keep an eye on everything now. I can keep an eye on Alice, too.”

It’s scary, he thinks, how she knows him so well. How she can soothe him with her words, with her promise of taking extra care of Alice. It makes him hug her a bit tighter.

* * *

 

It’s in the middle of the night when he receives a call from Hank, much too late to mean anything good has happened.

“There’s another one,” Hank says, sounding tired and stressed and perhaps regretful. “I’m sorry I’m calling you, fucking Jeff insisted. Are you okay with coming here?”

He sighs, pulling himself away from Kara so she won’t wake up from her stasis. It’s an useless effort, of course, because she stirs all the same.

“Yes, I can meet you at the crime scene if you send me the address.”

“I’m sorry, kid.”

“Don’t be. I want to solve this.”

After they hang up, Kara’s owlish blue eyes are already open and alert, and her hand finds his in a second.

“I could go with you...” she suggests, but he shakes his head.

“I don’t want Alice alone,” he says. “If this killing spree continues, she can’t be alone at all.”

Kara nods and kisses his cheek. “You can call me if you need. I can still try to help, even at a distance.”

He turns around to kiss her in the mouth, gratefulness flooding his synthetic body.

* * *

 

It’s another YK500. Another little girl. This one has a very long and very blonde hair. Her body is exactly like the last one. Covered in mud, especially her face. An orchid in her right hand, pump regulator gone. Strangled to death six hours ago. And, once again, the murder doesn’t appear to have been committed in this area. Not only that, but like the other time, there are no fingerprints. And only one species can’t leave fingerprints...

Something about this, the way the bodies are, it makes him think about another case. Maybe it’s something he could look into later.

Officer Mark Simmons is here this time, looking exhausted. Still, Connor approaches him.

“Hello, Officer,” he greets carefully, still remembering how the man refused to talk to him earlier. “Do you know if there were any witnesses this time?”

Simmons takes a full minute to answer. “Uh? Oh, witnesses...no. I don’t think so.”

“You seem tired and your stress levels are almost reaching sixty-five percent. You should take a break, Officer.”

Simmons waves him off. “I’m alright, don’t worry about it. Have you pieced anything together yet?”

“No,” Connor says, shaking his head. “Who found the body this time?”

“Uh, Officer Hartley did. She...she called us half an hour ago.”

He nods, and after a quick scan, finds Mary Hartley talking quietly to Hank. He makes his way to them, but stops abruptly when the feeling of being watched returns full force. He looks around hastily and, once again, finds a figure strikingly similar to RK900. The figure doesn’t disappear this time. In fact, it waves and gestures for him to come closer.

Connor does, frowning all the while. The figure hides behind several trees, hiding them from the officers nearby.

“Hello,” RK900 says, forcing a smile. He still hasn’t fixed his face.

Connor takes a deep breath, eyes widening for a second. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Canada? I know I saw you there.”

His doppelgänger nods. “I heard some disturbing things. Rumors. And I came to see what it was about. I...I was concerned about Alice’s safety.”

“She’s safe,” Connor says. “With her mother.”

“I’m glad. I wanted to talk to you, too. The rumors I heard mentioned an android is doing the killings.”

Connor thinks back to the fact that there were no fingerprints on any of the bodies and nods. “It makes sense. I didn’t find any evidence that a human was behind it, but to consider the option...this isn’t going to look good. Markus is still negotiating many rights.”

“It’s a WR400,” RK900 adds.

Connor raises one eyebrow. “I didn’t find anything to point out a model. How...?”

“I saw it. Her. I saw her here earlier, when she dropped the body. I was the one that sent a warning to Officer Hartley, since her signal said she was the closest here.”

RK900 offers Connor his hand, eyes eager. When Connor takes it, he sees it’s the truth. And he sees her, the WR400. She looks a bit like North, but with a shorter hair.

“I’ll stay around,” RK900 says. “If I see her again, I’ll warn you. It’s the least I can do after...well. After what I did to your family.”

Connor nods, though it’s still hard to find it in himself to smile at the other android. Instead, he says, “Alice really loves the stuffed toys you gave her.”

It seems to brighten RK900’s entire face. “She does? I’m glad. I’m very glad.” Then he frowns. “We need to find whoever is doing this. Alice...it’s her model as well.”

“I know. I’ll find them.” Before he can regret it, he says, “I know you’ve been programmed originally to do everything I can, and I...I was wondering...something about this case seems familiar. Doesn’t it?”

RK900 thinks for a moment. “You believe it could be a copycat?”

“I’m not sure. It’s just...”

“It reminds me of the Origami Killer,” RK900 interrupts him. Maybe humoring him, or maybe he does suspect the same thing. “The mud in the children’s faces, the orchid. The exact six hours separating death from the body being found. You remember this serial killer, I’m assuming? Scott Shelby, killed in 2011. Committed crimes in Philadelphia between 2009 and 2011, kidnapped nine children and killed eight of them. Former—”

“Police lieutenant, yes,” Connor says. “I know who he was. His last crime happened twenty-seven years ago, though.”

“The media still made a big deal out of it,” RK900 reminds him. “Copycats only need inspiration. And if it’s android behind all of it, then I don’t doubt she could have easily found all sorts of information on Shelby’s crimes.”

“Two children were already killed,” Connor says, closing his eyes for a second. “Do you think this means it’s going to happen again? At least six more times?”

“I don’t know. But I’ll keep my eyes open.” RK900 sighs. “Good luck on your end of things.”

RK900 starts walking away, but before he can, Connor calls, “What’s your name?”

It seems odd that only now he’s realizing he only ever referred to the other android by his model. It feels...wrong. Especially now that they’re helping each other.

RK900 seems startled, but he smiles. “Originally, I was named Connor as well. But I’ve decided to choose my own name. It’s John now.”

Connor finally manages to smile back. “Good luck on your end of things as well, John.”

* * *

 

He tells everything to Hank once they’re alone, away from the body that’s carefully being removed. He hopes that whoever loved this little girl once she was alive can reclaim her body. They don’t need to make a fuss if they’re being threatened. They can do it quietly. Connor just hopes they get to bury her or something of the sort.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Hank says, raising his hands. “Are you telling me that even dead that fucker is still causing trouble?”

“Technically he isn’t,” Connor says, ignoring Hank’s annoyed face. “It’s someone that possibly…admired his…crimes. And if I’m correct, it’s an android.”

“Shit, yes, I forgot that part,” Hank says. “And your doppelgänger…he’s the one that gave you all this info?”

“Precisely. Although I’ve reached some conclusions by myself, of course.”

Hank ignores him. “We’re not telling this to Fowler yet, are we? I know how you androids think. This won’t be good for you lot.”

“Yes, it won’t. So I’d appreciate if we could keep this between ourselves for now. There’s no proof anyway. Just a hunch.”

“Yeah, I know,” he says. “But I don’t want to wait until another kid shows up dead. This…this is a new level of wrong.”

While Connor agrees, he doesn’t need to say it out loud. Hank already knows his opinion. And while he had always believed both humans and androids could be good and bad, this…it disgusts him. How could someone harm a child? Innocent, naïve, sweet. No child would ever try to hurt anyone. And yet…people hurt them.

“Did you get anything from Officer Hartley?” he asks, needing to stop thinking about the bodies.

“No, nothing we didn’t know. I mean, she was a bit surprised at the anonymous call stating there was another body, but now that I know your buddy was behind it, it makes sense.”

“Did she mention if we got any reports concerning a child being kidnapped?”

“No.” Hank frowns. “That’s the part that doesn’t make sense to me. These children obviously had parents. Why would they keep quiet?”

“My hunch is that they must have been threatened in some way,” Connor says. “It’s the most likely possibility I can come up with.”

“Yeah, but it’s still a kid. I don’t know.”

Connor briefly looks at Officer Simmons again, still looking distressed and lost and tired. Something about this…a piece of this puzzle is missing, and he’s sure Simmons could help. So why isn’t he doing anything? Why doesn’t he talk? Whatever the reason, Connor knows he’ll do his best to solve this puzzle. So he takes long strides until he reaches Simmons again, and this time he doesn’t even stop to consider his approach.

“Officer,” he calls as gently as possible, “I know we already discussed this, but I need to ask again. Your YK500, your…your daughter…”

Simmons shakes his head. “Please, don’t. I can’t…”

“Is she home? Is she safe?” he insists, because he needs to know. If he’s right, and this killer is targeting children from police officers, then Alice…

A stray tear rolls down Simmons’ face. “Please,” he repeats. “I can’t. I can’t. It’s for her sake. I can’t. You have to understand.”

Connor does. He does understand. He feels ready to vomit once again, to run away, to take Kara and Alice and go hide somewhere until it’s safe again. He was right. Of course he was.

This means…nine people at the DPD have YK500 children. Two are already dead. Nine, like the number of children Shelby kidnapped as the Origami Killer.

He needs to find this WR400, and he needs to do it fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John Connor, anyone? No? Okay then.


	3. Chapter 3

Alice fits the profile. Alice could easily be next YK500 he finds, muddied, pump regulator gone. Dead. Alice. Alice. Sweet Alice.

He doesn’t know how to tell Kara any of that. He doesn’t want to let her know how deeply disturbing this is, but he can’t be quiet. He needs to let her know. It’s only fair. He already told Hank to talk to the other families, warn them to be extremely careful. It’s only fair that Alice gets the same treatment.

But Kara is perceptive. When he asks to go with them to take Alice to her school, he sees it in her eyes. She understands. She’s scared. She feels exactly what he feels. When their fingers intertwine, she tries to once again soothe him. For the first time, it doesn’t work. And their walk to the school, a fifteen-minute-walk, is completely silent. Not even Alice feels the need to fill it with her chatter about the wedding, with her plans and her excitement.

The wedding.

He completely forgot about it. The only reminder are the rings on his fingers as well as the ones on Kara’s. They were supposed to be planning their wedding, not to be scared like this.

When they make it to their destination, both him and Kara drop to their knees to kiss Alice’s cheeks at the same time. He’d have thought it was sweet or amusing, but now it just fills him with dread.

“Please be safe,” he tells Alice in a whisper. “Don’t go anywhere until we come here again. Don’t talk to anyone you don’t know.”

“I promise,” Alice says, giving both of them kisses as well. “See you later!”

He didn’t even want for her to come to school today. Or any day until he cracked the case. But she insisted. And Kara agreed. And in the end he agreed as well. He regrets it now.

“I’ll stay around today,” he tells Kara once Alice is inside, smiling and talking to her friends. “Keep an eye on the area. If I see something that doesn’t seem usual, maybe…”

She nods. “I understand.” Then she forces a smile. “And to be honest, that was my plan as well. We might as well stay together and cover a bigger area.”

He opens his mouth to say that yes, he believes this is a good idea. But before he can, someone else says, “If you two don’t mind, I can help as well.”

Kara goes stiff immediately, putting herself between him and the newcomer in a way that’s surprisingly endearing. He squeezes her shoulders when he sees it’s RK900 once again. No, not RK900. John. That’s the name he chose.

“Hello again, Connor,” John greets, nodding. “Kara.”

“You have no right to be here,” she says. “Just because we accepted the gifts you sent for Alice, doesn’t mean you get to be here.”

“I want to help,” he says, looking at Connor for a moment. “Please.”

“It’s okay, Kara,” Connor tells her. “He’s been trying to help since yesterday. I believe he’s being honest. It’s okay.”

She doesn’t look entirely convinced, but she nods and relaxes her shoulders a bit. It’s all John’s going to get, at least for now. Kara can be a…tough cookie, as Hank would probably say.

Seeing as the other two aren’t going to say anything else, Connor clears his throat. “If we position ourselves as a triangle, we can watch almost the entire area. If anyone resembling the killer appears, we connect to each other.”

“What do they look like?” Kara asks, making Connor realize that he never shared this detail with her.

He raises his hand to show her a picture from the memory John showed him earlier. “Very similar to North, but…colder,” he says. “She stands out once you’ve seen her.”

Kara nods. “She’s a WR400, then. I wonder…” she trails off.

“What?”

Kara shakes her head. “North was always so angry because of her past. I wonder if this android is as well. Although that wouldn’t explain why she’s angry at children.”

“I don’t think it’s about the children,” Connor says. “The way she covers their faces with mud…it’s like she doesn’t want to look at them, at what she’s doing. No, my guess is that she wants to send a message to the parents. And if they’re all part of the DPD, then…”

“Then one of the cops wronged her somehow,” John finishes. “She’s angry. We all know what it’s like being angry.”

Connor nods, but Kara ignores John completely.

“Let’s move and stop wasting our time here,” she says. They all do exactly as they’re told, surrounding the school.

For a while, it’s all quiet. So quiet that Connor hears Kara’s voice in his mind, humming a song. She doesn’t seem to be purposefully interfacing with him, though, which makes the act even sweeter.

 _I didn’t know you liked to sing_ , he tells her, feeling a smile forming on his face.

She laughs. _I guess I do when I’m bored._

_I’m actually very glad we’re bored. I don’t want to consider the other option._

He feels the shift in her mood instantly. _Yes, me neither. We’re going to be alright, aren’t we?_

 _Yes_ , he says after hesitating for a second. _Yes. I’m not going to let anything happen to you or Alice. I promise._

_And I promise to let nothing happen to you, either._

This tugs at his heartstrings, and his smile widens a bit.

 _You know_ , he says, _I can’t wait for this to be over so I can marry you._

Once again, she laughs. _Me neither. I truly love you. I hope you know that._

Before he can tell her how much he loves her as well, they’re interrupted by RK900— _no, not RK900, his name is John_ , he corrects himself—interfacing with both of them at once.

 _She’s here,_  John says, almost stumbling over his own words. _I know it’s her. It’s exactly like I remember. It has to be her._

He knows what John’s going to do a second before he does, and so Connor starts running. He catches up with his doppelgänger a moment later, and they both keep running and running. In front of them, Connor sees her. The WR400. She’s exactly like John remembered her, short blonde hair, cold eyes, curled lips. So much like North, his friend, and yet so different. Thinking about the children she killed fuels him to run faster.

 _Take the left and I’ll take the right_ , John tells him quickly.

It would have worked perfectly for the WR400 if she hadn’t run straight into an alley, somewhere they could easily corner her. And they do.

Her eyes become fearful, and she looks almost like a cat, trying to find an exit by looking at every possible route. The odds mustn’t be very good, because she suddenly looks ready to fight them.

 _Jump on her_ , Connor tells John, already ready to run and grab her. John nods and everything happens more quickly than Connor had even expected.

They both grab her arms, squeeze them even though androids don’t feel physical pain. She first tries to fight them, and then her skin vanishes from her hands and arms, leaving only the white skeleton.

And then the memories come, mostly filled with nothing but static. They become clearer after a moment.

Eden Club. She works there, has been there since she was fabricated, back in 2035. She talks to the other androids, but nothing about that life is happy. Then there’s a man. Fat, small, longish black hair looking greasy. He buys her to take her home indefinitely, keeps her there for at least an entire year.

More static, and suddenly there’s a YK500 living with them as well, and she takes care of the little girl as often as possible. They go see flowers together, they love orchids. _Love_ is what accompanies the memories.

And then _fear_ and _hate_. The child screams, and she wants to help, she desperately tries to help. She calls the police, begs with them, tries to explain through her panic what is happening to her little girl. No one comes, the man, the awful man strangles the girl until she can’t scream anymore, until his fingers are forever etched in her delicate neck.

Static, and then, six hours later, the police arrive. She hides in the house while they talk to the man, and once they’re gone, she kills him, does to him exactly what he did to her little girl.

Connor is pulled from the memories, too shocked and overwhelmed to do anything for three seconds. When he looks at John, he’s just as overwhelmed—surely that means he’s experienced everything as well, saw every memory. The WR400 uses that as an opportunity to run from them, shake their hands from her arms and disappear in the middle of a crowd.

They can only stare at empty space, at each other, trying to process everything this android just showed them. She didn’t say anything the whole time they were together, but he can hear her voice echoing inside his head, can see her bending down to kiss the YK500 she cared for. _I love you, Holly, forever and ever_ , she says and repeats over and over. It’s all he can see and hear for a moment.

John’s the one to shake him from his thoughts, to bring him back to reality, to this dirty alley they’re currently standing.

“She’s gone,” John states. “I can’t find her. My scan can’t find anything.”

Connor doesn’t find it in himself to show any sort of emotion, too shaken up from the chase, until he’s by Kara’s side again. When she hugs him, her hands curling on his jacket, he allows the first tears to fall. It takes him a long while to realize that, if she was around here, she must’ve known about Alice, must have chosen Alice as her next target.

He’s more grateful than ever that androids don’t need to breathe.


	4. Chapter 4

He spends countless hours at the precinct the next day, reviewing every possible file regarding children being kept in abusive homes. At the back of his mind, he can’t forget about Todd Williams, the man that called himself Kara and Alice’s owner. Thinking about him makes something ugly stir inside Connor, but he quickly pushes it aside when he remembers the punch Hank gave that man. Yes, that was a very satisfying sight.

Still, he shakes the thoughts away. He needs to focus. And then he finds it, a small file concerning the death of a YK500 named Holly. Her owner, Sean Pine, told a fantastic story of how someone broke into the house and murdered the child simply to steal its pump regulator. Hours later, officers found him dead and an autopsy showed signs that he had been high on Red Ice.

He’s just downloaded Pine’s old address to check the place out when Mark Simmons stumbles into their break room. Connor gets up from his desk removing his hand from the terminal, to hurry after the man.

Simmons is quickly downing a cup of coffee by the time Connor makes it there. He chokes when he sees Connor, looking more than ready to bolt.

“Please wait,” Connor asks, hands raised in peace. “I just want to talk.”

“I can’t talk about the case,” Simmons hurries to say. “You have to understand.”

“I do,” he says. “But you also need to understand that Alice, that my…my d-daughter was almost kidnapped as well. Please. If I don’t solve this case, she’ll be at risk.”

“And if I tell you anything, _my daughter_ will be the one at risk. It’s not a choice you can ask me to make.”

“She already has your daughter, doesn’t she?” Connor asks, eyes wide. “You don’t need to say anything. Just shake head or nod. I promise that I’ll find this android, Officer Simmons.”

Simmons nods once, though he still looks skittish.

“She has your little girl, then?” Connor insists. Another nod. “Anyone else’s?” Another nod. “All of them?” Once again, Simmons nods. “All of them, except for…Alice.” Suddenly, his Thirium pump speeds up, and he needs to go now. “Thank you, Officer Simmons. You’ve helped me greatly.”

He quickly sends a message to both John and Hank, asking them to meet him at his and Kara’s house.

* * *

 

Everything about the meeting is tense. They don’t look at each other in the eye, they mumble and stumble over their words. Even Hank seems a bit...awkward. Connor tries to break the silence the only way he can: by explaining every bit of information he has. Every little detail. From his guesses to his talk with Simmons.

“I don’t think I see where you’re going with this,” Hank is the first to say.

“I do,” Kara says before Connor can. “If we go to where this android...to where she lived with her little girl, we might find clues. Or we might even find her.”

“It’s a bit of an obvious place to hide, though. Isn’t it?” Hank insists.

“Perhaps this is exactly why she’d go there,” John says. “Or maybe it’s something even more obvious. That place must hold some memories of the child she lost. It might be her way of...mourning.”

Hank raises one eyebrow. “By going on a killing spree?”

John shrugs. “People mourn differently.”

Before an argument can start, Connor says, “One of us will need to stay behind with Alice. She needs to be safe, or else this will be for nothing.” He looks at John for a moment, and the other android frowns deeply.

“You know I am—”

Connor cuts him off with an almost amused chuckle. “Faster, stronger, more resilient and equipped with better technology. Yes, I am aware. Which is exactly why I need you to stay behind and watch Alice. She needs the best. And you...you are the best.”

For a moment, Kara looks like she wants to protest. But then she bites on her lower lip and nods. “Connor’s right, unfortunately. I trust you’ll keep her safe?”

John nods, smiling to see that Kara is finally not ignoring him completely. “Yes. You have my word.”

“We’re going to do this tomorrow,” Connor announces, and immediately Kara and John nod. “We’re going to solve this and bring the children back.”

Hank suddenly chuckles. “You androids are fucking weird,” he says, though there’s no bite to his comment. “But you can count on me, son.”

“What’s going on?” Alice herself asks, suddenly popping up from her bedroom, carrying one of her toys in her hands. “Why is Uncle Hank here?” Though she does look confused, she smiles and goes kiss Hank’s cheek. The older man seems to almost melt at her affection.

“Why, hello squirt,” Hank greets her, ruffling her brown hair.

Before anyone else can talk as well, Alice turns around and sees John, and her smile drops. Of course she remembers him. Of course she’s still scared.

John himself looks scared as well, wanting to run away after being scrutinized by a little girl.

Kara takes Alice’s hand between hers. “You don’t have to be afraid, sweetheart,” she tells Alice. “He’s here to help us now. You can trust him. At least for now.”

She nods, but then raises her free hand toward Connor as well. He takes it and smiles. “It’s okay, Alice. Do you remember your stuffed frog? That was a gift from him.”

That seems to work a bit better, because Alice smiles a little. “Really?”

“Oh, yes,” Kara says. “Do you want to go and thank him?”

She looks undecided for a second, but her frown is quickly pulled aside when she nods and carefully walks to stand in front of John.

“I really like my frog,” she tells him. “Thank you very much, mister…Hum. What’s your name?”

John looks like someone just slapped him in the face. “Oh. I…My name is John. It’s nice to meet you properly, Alice. I’m…glad you liked the frog.”

She beams. “Do you want to be my friend now?”

“I would…” He stops talking to nervously look at both Connor and Kara. When they both remain silent, John turns back to Alice. “I’d love that.”

Alice giggles and takes his hand. “Then come here! I want to show you all of Mr. Frog’s friends!”

When they’re gone from their sight, Kara sighs and leans her head against Connor’s shoulders. He curls his arm around her middle.

“That girl is too forgiving for her own good,” Hank mutters. “But I don’t think anyone knows how to make friends quite like she does.”

Connor can’t help but agree.

* * *

 

He doesn’t want to allow his system to go into stasis this night. He looks at Alice, sleeping peacefully in her bed, and can’t bring himself to go away.

Everything about this case is toying with his emotions in a way he never thought possible. Sometimes, the stress makes him wish he hadn’t gone deviant after all. And then he looks at Alice again, and realizes that without being deviant he wouldn’t have bonded with her and Kara.

It’s worth it, he knows. All of the bad emotions, they come with good ones as well. They come with the great memories he has with Alice and Kara. And there are still going to be new memories to come. He and Kara are going to get married and Alice will be there, and they’re all going to be happy. It’s everything he wants. And yet…the thoughts of the WR400 and these dead children won’t stop plaguing his mind.

The rational part of his brain, the one that still wants to solve the case more than anything simply because it’s a challenge, wonders why she chose the Origami Killer as her inspiration. Something that happened more than twenty years ago. Surely she must have considered other serial killers as well? Or maybe it’s a coincidence. Of course, coincidence is highly unlikely, but not impossible. There must be some connection. He could connect the emotional aspect—the WR400 was driven to commit crimes after losing someone she loved, the same that happened to the Origami Killer. Both of them kill children exactly the same way the children they loved were killed. Although the Origami Killer murdered human children, while the WR400 prefers androids.

The Origami Killer, however, contacted the parents before he actually killed the children to make them go through “trials” to prove their love. The WR400 did no such a thing. Yes, she must’ve contacted the parents if Simmons is aware his daughter is with her, but as far as Connor knows, she didn’t ask for anything. Not yet, at least. Why?

“You need to rest,” Kara whispers in his ear, her arms hugging his back tightly. “Please.”

“I need to understand this,” he tells her, careful to keep his voice down. “What this android is doing…I need to understand her.”

“Maybe she’s just…you know, bad,” Kara says. “There are humans who are bad for no reason. I don’t think it’s impossible for some androids to just be bad as well.”

“Still, you didn’t see her memories. She…I don’t know. She didn’t look like she was always like this.”

“It doesn’t matter what she was like before. What matters is that now she decided she wants to hurt innocent children. This can’t be forgiven or excused. No matter how much we want to be empathetic to her early life, nothing will excuse what she’s doing now.”

He turns around to kiss Kara’s forehead, watching as she closes her eyes and smiles briefly. “It’s not about being empathetic, not really. It’s just…why? Why would she do that?”

“People can act madly when they’re desperate,” is all Kara says, a distant look in her eyes when she opens them again. “We’re going to find her tomorrow, no matter what. Can we go to bed now?”

He smiles, though he isn’t sure how genuine it is. “Yes, we can. Come on, Kara.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo hmmm, as you probably already noticed, I can't write action scenes well AT ALL. I'm sorry??

For the first time, Connor manages to reboot his system and wake up without waking Kara as well. He slides away from their bed, pausing only to smile down at her sleeping figure. As he makes his way to the living room, he stops for a moment to look at Alice. Still sleeping, snuggling with her toys. Peaceful. Unafraid. Just as any child should be.

Hank is sprawled on the couch, snoring. Connor smiles, though he knows they’ll all need to wake up soon. Looking at the other couch, however, he sees that John is sitting up straight, wide awake.

“I never understood why deviants enjoy going into stasis every night,” he says, not looking at Connor in the eye. “Pretend it’s sleep. I don’t understand the action. Only humans can sleep.” As if to prove John’s point, Hank snores louder.

“This is…hard to explain.” Connor sits down next to the other android, sighing. “I believe I became used to it because Alice, being a child model, requires sleep. And, of course, because Hank does as well. Seeing them doing it all the time made me and Kara decide to try as well. After a few months…we’ve learned that we can experience dreams and nightmares just like humans. Perhaps it’s become a habit that only some androids partake. It’s a choice. That’s the thing with being deviant—everything is a choice.”

John snorts, though he still looks enthralled by the explanation. “I don’t believe it’s something I’m going to try any time soon.”

“Like I said, it’s your choice. No one can decide for you.”

“I don’t think the weird version of you can understand philosophy, Connor,” Hank mutters, sitting up on the couch. “Fuck. Why the hell do you have a couch that’s so ridiculously awful?”

“No one ever sleeps here,” he says.

“No one should,” Hank agrees. “As a wedding gift, I’m buying you and Kara a nice couch. One people can actually use.”

“We don’t require gifts,” Connor says at the same time John answers, “I can understand philosophy just fine.”

“Fucking androids,” Hank tells them both, rolling his eyes. Connor isn’t sure if John can see it, but Hank doesn’t mean it in a derogatory way. He actually sounds very fond. “So, now what?”

“Now we wake Kara and go after the WR400,” Connor says, already getting up from the couch.

* * *

 

The plan is fairly simple: go to the old house where the WR400 lived with the YK500—Holly, Connor remembers—before she was killed. It seems a bit obvious, and yet it’s the most likely option. She doesn’t strike him as someone who would even want to be hiding. She possibly just wants her child back, and the house must be where she has some good memories. Yes, it’s also where the child was killed, but it’s still the option with the highest possibility of being where the WR400 is keeping the children she kidnapped.

Hank drives them silently, and Connor can see Kara fidgeting on the backseat. He wants to talk to her, see if he can reassure her in any way. He can’t, though. He can’t even reassure himself, let alone Kara. Everything about this situation is a mess, and he can’t wait for it to be over. Case closed. It’s everything he craves.

“Alright, we’re here,” Hank announces, parking outside an old house.

It’s not exactly in a bad shape or anything. Yes, it looks abandoned, but the lack of neighboring houses is the most striking feature. It reminds Connor vaguely of the memories Kara showed him of Todd Williams’ house. Yes, that’s a good comparison.

“You two armed?” Hank asks, still being the only one willing to break the silence.

“Yes,” Kara says at the same time Connor nods.

Hank returns his nod. “Let’s hope your guess is right, kid. God, I don’t even want to begin explaining all of this to Fowler…” He sighs. “He’s going to kill us for bringing Kara with us. And for not telling anyone we would come here in the first place.”

“We’re going to be quick, and we’re going to get the WR400,” Connor says almost automatically. “He’ll be grateful for this part.”

“If it works,” Hank points out before stopping in front of the door. “Alright kids, you two stay behind me.”

They do. And it’s all quiet inside the house, not a single sound coming from the first floor. They all walk carefully around, checking every corner. Upstairs, though, is a different story. The first sign that something is wrong comes when they hear a whimper coming from one of the bedrooms. Kara goes there as fast as she can, and Connor follows her. Inside, they find a pink bedroom. Toys scattered everywhere. It reminds Connor a bit of how Alice likes her room.

In a corner, they see six children, all of them huddled together. All, except for one, are into stasis. Kara runs to them, drops to her knees to check for any injuries.

“Jesus fuck,” Hank curses at the same time Connor scans the children and finds no injuries. They’re all alive and well. And while they all resemble Alice in some ways, they’re also different. Different hairs, different clothes, different facial details.

“I’ll get them out of here,” Kara says, looking over her shoulders quickly. “Come on, children, come on.” She touches all of them quickly, interfacing with them so she can wake them up. “Come on. I’m going to help you.”

Just as she manages to calm them down, a creak from the wooden floor alerts them that someone else made it to the room as well.

Without turning around, Connor knows it’s the WR400. It has to be. If the children are here, then so is she.

However, as he turns around, he gasps. He hears Kara’s own gasp along with Hank’s curse. But none of this matters.

It is indeed the WR400, but she’s holding someone in her tight grasp. Her own gun doesn’t shake while she aims it.

At Alice’s head.

Now, seeing her right in front of him, Connor can easily see how different she is from other YK500 children. And yet, all he can think of is how she could possibly be here. John was supposed to be watching her, he said he would watch her, and fuck, Connor trusted him and Kara trusted him and—

He realizes that, naively, he never scanned Hank’s car. Kara probably didn’t as well. Because there was no reason for them to do it. There was no point.

And yet.

Yet Alice must have come with them, hidden somewhere in the car.

This is a nightmare. This can’t be possible. It can’t.

“Drop your weapons,” the WR400 instructs, her eyes never leaving Alice’s. “Now.”

“She’s just a little girl,” Hank tries, though they all do let their weapons fall to the floor and kick them toward the WR400. “Lady, you don’t need to hurt her. Please. She’s just a little girl.”

“Holly was a little girl, too,” she answers, her voice icy. “She was innocent. And no one bothered to help her when she needed the most.”

“Would Holly want this, though?” Kara asks, still shielding the other children with her own body. “I’m a mother, too. And I’m asking you as a mother: would your daughter want this?”

For a second, Connor thinks that maybe this will convince the android. But then she frowns and glares at Kara.

“Holly isn’t here to want anything anymore,” she says.

If they keep distracting her like that, Connor knows he has a chance of running into the WR400 and throwing Alice out of the way. He might get shot once or twice in the meantime, but he’d take it. Getting shot was better than seeing Alice hurt. Anything was better than seeing her hurt.

“I’m sorry,” Alice whispers, her lower lip trembling. “I heard about the other girls, and I wanted to help. I’m so sorry, Kara. I’m so sorry...”

“It’s not your fault, squirt,” Hank tells her before Kara can.

This happens quickly, but it’s enough to capture the android’s attention for a few seconds. It’s all Connor needs to calculate a possible outcome. And so he charges at her. He manages to get Alice out of the way, but the WR400 doesn’t drop her gun when they fall to the floor. Instead, she manages to shoot him in the shoulder.

There’s a scream, and for a moment he’s scared, so scared because he doesn’t know if it’s coming from Alice or the other children. It gives the WR400 leverage to shoot him once again, and soon they’re rolling on the floor, fighting for the gun, and then—

Then there’s another shot.

In a desperate second, Connor believes he’ll shut down. Die. And then he notices the Thirium running down the WR400’s face. It takes him a moment to understand his surroundings. The kidnapped YK500 androids are all hugging each other, crying. Hank is covering Alice’s entire body with his, shielding her from any stray bullets. And Kara, rA9 bless her, has a gun in her hand and rage in her eyes. Once she realizes the other android isn’t moving anymore, the gun slips from her fingers and she drops to her knees next to Connor.

“Are you alright?” She asks, whispers. “Con? Please, talk to me.”

He can’t. He can only cry and hug her and kiss her and be relived.

Minutes later, John runs up the stairs and curses. Connor doesn’t look at him, still much too shaken.

Hank, however, mutters, “You’re fucking late. Best technologies my ass—you let a little girl outsmart you.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh, here you go. something super short to wrap things up. I hope this fic wasn't so bad! if it was, sorry?

They bring the WR400 back to the precinct and manage to fix her so she can be activated again. Fortunately for them, Kara didn’t shoot anything that couldn’t be replaced. Unfortunately for them, the WR400 kills herself the same way Carlos Ortiz’s android had done long ago. This time, she’s too damaged to be reactivated.

With her death, they can’t learn anything about her thought process. Can’t learn why she copied some of the Origami Killer’s methods or if it was all a coincidence. Still, with her death, the case is closed.

Connor would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the part where they returned the children to their parents, though. Simmons and the other officers can barely control themselves when they’re finally reunited with their families. It’s a beautiful moment; one that Connor doesn’t wish to interrupt. And, honestly, he wants to be with his own family as well.

The two families that lost their daughters reclaim their bodies, too. They send letters thanking both Connor and Hank, thanking them for finding the culprit. It’s a sad affair, but Connor attends both funerals.

When Connor finally manages to be home, he can’t help but just be around Kara, bask in her light and love. With their hands intertwined, four rings clicking against each other, they watch Alice and John play with her stuffed toys—Mr. Frog included.

“Do you think we can go back to planning the wedding now?” Kara asks, leaning against his side.

He chuckles. “I hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, I don't believe we could ever learn everything behind every case. some crimes are just...mysteries. some people are just lunatics, too.


End file.
